Opinions on Changes in Free Trial

[budr99]

As the title suggests, I'm looking for a general consensus on how the changes in the free trial will affect you, or how you think it may affect potential new people.

There are a few questions that can help gather this information, and of course you are welcome to add any other questions/topics that come to mind.

1) Do you feel level a maximum level of 21 is enough time for a potential subscriber to determine if this is the right game for them?

2) Do you think it is fair/not fair for people above level 21 in any of the skills that are still on Silan to essentially be 'locked out' of adventuring that skill until they upgrade to a full subscription?

3) Do you think there could be some mis-advertising by offering a unlimited free trial and now changing the rules of that free trial mid-stream?

4) After a while, the people on Silan that are above level 21 will either join the mainland, or leave the game. Do you think this could affect they experience of individuals seeking help or guidance on Silan as the more developed characters move off to bigger and better things? (such as advice, guidance, buying better quality crafted items, etc)

This isn't a topic to suggest one thing or the other. Just wondering what people's opinions are on the changes.

[raynes]

As the title suggests, I'm looking for a general consensus on how the changes in the free trial will affect you, or how you think it may affect potential new people.

There are a few questions that can help gather this information, and of course you are welcome to add any other questions/topics that come to mind.

1) Do you feel level a maximum level of 21 is enough time for a potential subscriber to determine if this is the right game for them?

2) Do you think it is fair/not fair for people above level 21 in any of the skills that are still on Silan to essentially be 'locked out' of adventuring that skill until they upgrade to a full subscription?

3) Do you think there could be some mis-advertising by offering a unlimited free trial and now changing the rules of that free trial mid-stream?

4) After a while, the people on Silan that are above level 21 will either join the mainland, or leave the game. Do you think this could affect they experience of individuals seeking help or guidance on Silan as the more developed characters move off to bigger and better things? (such as advice, guidance, buying better quality crafted items, etc)

This isn't a topic to suggest one thing or the other. Just wondering what people's opinions are on the changes.

1. Yes I feel that for the first 21 levels you get enough of a chance to experience the basics of the game. Don't forget you really have 84 levels to play as you have 21 in each skill tree to try out.

2. Yes I think it's fair. At 21 you have experienced the bare basics of the game. If you want to try more, it's only about $15.00.

3. No, they did offer a free trial. Now they are changing that because people take advantage.

4. No, because you have the universe channel available to you.

[XoloX]

I appreciate your mature way of approaching this change, which has definitely been annoying you to some degree...

These questions are already discussed in this thread here.
So, in a very short form (possible explanations are in the other thread):
1) no
2) yes, something "fair"
3) It's still free and unlimited time-wise... it will need another description for people not to feel cheated, though.
4) no biggy... Twinks are there to help or be on vacation still helping

[fiach]

As the title suggests, I'm looking for a general consensus on how the changes in the free trial will affect you, or how you think it may affect potential new people.

There are a few questions that can help gather this information, and of course you are welcome to add any other questions/topics that come to mind.

1) Do you feel level a maximum level of 21 is enough time for a potential subscriber to determine if this is the right game for them?

2) Do you think it is fair/not fair for people above level 21 in any of the skills that are still on Silan to essentially be 'locked out' of adventuring that skill until they upgrade to a full subscription?

3) Do you think there could be some mis-advertising by offering a unlimited free trial and now changing the rules of that free trial mid-stream?

4) After a while, the people on Silan that are above level 21 will either join the mainland, or leave the game. Do you think this could affect they experience of individuals seeking help or guidance on Silan as the more developed characters move off to bigger and better things? (such as advice, guidance, buying better quality crafted items, etc)

This isn't a topic to suggest one thing or the other. Just wondering what people's opinions are on the changes.

1. Yes, it gives a fair indication of the range of mobs and skills and the depth of Ryzom.

2. Yes its fair, they have a wide range of skills available to develope, so they have a clear idea of what is ahead of them on the mainland.

3. No, as far as I know they can stay at 21 as long as they want, ie. for an unlimited period of time. I guess if the world ends tomorrow and they are onely level 12, then they will really feel gipped.

4. There is always help in Universal chat either from fellow RoS players, mainlanders or GM's.

Basically, I feel that you should make a decision on whether to stay or go, other games charge you 50 bucks for the game, you get a month free and then you have to poney up 15 bucks a month or cancel.

Neverax have enough financial stress without having to provide a free service for freeloaders ad finitum, so a level 21 cap is more than sufficant in my opinon.

Jeeze the game is only a few bucks anyway, if they cant afford that or are too mean to pay it, then the miserable gits should bugger off to a korean F2P grind fest and realise how lucky they were to have soujourned here on Silan and allow Neverax to use their resources more constructively.

Hope the answers were helpful

[chessack]

1) Do you feel level a maximum level of 21 is enough time for a potential subscriber to determine if this is the right game for them?

No.

And I would probably not have subscribed to continue the test. And by 21, I would not have been won over yet. I was on the fence till I got into the higher levels of both harvesting and combat and saw what one could do with more specialized skills and stanzas.

I think this is a mistake of the first order. It is an SOE-style move. Taking stuff away from players, especially free stuff, is basically the #1 "don't" of the MMORPG dos and don'ts list. They're making a very serious error here.

I do not understand their reasons for doing this. I find it hard to believe that they are going to get a single subscription to "continue on the island" that they would not have gotten from people going to the mainland. They can't seriously believe that most people who just play the trial to 51 (the current practical limit now) and never buy the game, would suddenly have bought it if the limit were lowered to 21. My guess is, they think that they will get tons and tons of 1-monthers, who subscribe at 21, and cancel at 51, and figure that's better than people who never subscribe.

But that won't happen. Nobody who would've given up at 51, is going to subscribe at 21. No one who is not sure if he wants to buy the game, is going to buy it by making him LESS sure (by giving him less time). They need to win people over. Ryzom is a very unusual game and it takes a lot of getting used to. It took me till the 30s to be sure I even wanted to subscribe. I would NOT have paid just to find out if I wanted to pay for it. And neither will anyone else.

2) Do you think it is fair/not fair for people above level 21 in any of the skills that are still on Silan to essentially be 'locked out' of adventuring that skill until they upgrade to a full subscription?

I won't bother to debate whether it is "fair", because Nevrax owns the game and they are under no obligation (pending a change to wording of their ads) to offer anything free. However, I think their decision is bone-headed, and I think they are making a very serious mistake of the first order, as I have said.

Nevrax needs to make sure they do not under-estimate how many players have joined their game because they seemed like they were different from the other MMORPG companies out there. This sort of thing just makes them look like a smaller, less powerful version of SOE.

3) Do you think there could be some mis-advertising by offering a unlimited free trial and now changing the rules of that free trial mid-stream?

From a legal standpoint, no... if the time horizon remains unlimited it is not technically false advertising. They could easily argue that the XP restrictions (after a certain level you couldn't get any on the island because stuff was too low) already provided a sort of limit, as well as geographical limits (island only) and stanza limits. All they are doing is changing those limits from essentially 51 to 21.

However, from an ethical standpoint, I would object to them continuing to refer to it as an "unlimited" trial, especially if it is limited within the island itself (that is, some island players who have paid, can get some skills, and those who have not, cannot). It is hair-splitting in this case to say it is "still unlimited" when, regardless of legal definitions, by most players' definitions this would not be anything remotely like an unlimited trial. So yes, I think they should re-name or re-word it.

But instead, I wish they would just re-think it and go back to the original way they had it.

4) After a while, the people on Silan that are above level 21 will either join the mainland, or leave the game. Do you think this could affect they experience of individuals seeking help or guidance on Silan as the more developed characters move off to bigger and better things? (such as advice, guidance, buying better quality crafted items, etc)

I think it could create a vacuum. People right now stay on Silan into their 30s-40s or more (I was 50 in 2 skills) before paying. It is practical to do so right now (pre-this-new-patch). And I think it provides a nice resource of people who are still new, but are local to the island and somewhat experienced. Indeed, I was having vid card issues so I waited to subscribe until I solved those (mostly because I could not be sure I'd even be able to use my system to play Ryzom for a few weeks and didn't want to pay for a game I could not play). As a level 40-something in most skills, I provided tons and tons of help to true newbs, even though I wasn't yet a vet. It was fun to help, and it turned me into a regular helper -- a habit I have continued on the mainland.

By doing this level 21 divide, they are now going to probably see most people either stop at 21, just as they are starting to learn the ropes, or move to the mainland right after 21 (why stay on the island if you are paying for the full game?)... which will suck nearly all the "experienced newbies" out of the island, and make the newbie experience that much worse.

This isn't a topic to suggest one thing or the other. Just wondering what people's opinions are on the changes.

My opinion is that this is not a good change, and frankly, shame on Nevrax for doing it. It seems like a greedy SOE ploy to grub money from players rather than something that is truly good for the game, and as the greedy SOE ploys have proven time and time again -- they do not work. Players can see through this. They will see immediately that this is a way to make the trial virtually useless, and force people to pay to try the game. And let's face it, they are not going to pay to try this game when they can try any of the other major MMORPGs in a much less limited fashion, for free.

Ryzom is not a big-name game with big-name money behind it. It's a small, struggling game. It's a GOOD game. The trial has sucked in many people, including me, because it was free, and was extensive, and thus worth the time and energy to DL and learn. If they turn it into a tiny mini-game, most of the potential customers will not bother. I sure wouldn't have. They won't gain customers by doing this -- they will lose them.

It's a bad move and they need to re-think it. Frankly I hope they see the number of trial accounts plummet and the number of upgrades to full plummet, right away and unambiguously, and realize it's a mistake, and change it back.

C

[rushin]

They're making a very serious error here.
[snip]
I do not understand their reasons for doing this.

money my friend. There are a lot of people in the world that dont want to pay for things *glares at bit torrent somewhat guiltily* There are a lot of people on Silan who have no intention of ever subscribing and are treating Ryzom as a free game.

I think they are doing the right thing, as it's obviously an issue (in terms of resources) or they wouldnt be doing this. Nevrax's mistake, as has happened before, is being a little naive. But you know thats one of the reasons i love them and will continue to support them with a little bit of my pay check

side note: it would probably be best if the trial was advertised as an unlimited time free trial

You cant say shame on them, and equally i cant really argue against without knowing the numbers - but really they may be naive but not stupid, wouldnt be done for no reason..

[johntf]

Thr word trial handles any legalities...

And I think its fine, its a taster for the game thats all it was ever meant to be. Doesn't really bother me as I pay, and the trial island is still a thousand times better than what we had when I started in so many ways and better than most games starter area's.

[kattak]

Quoted from the page the the button for free trial takes you to:

Free Trial Account: allows to create an account (which will be free with unlimited time and XP on the starter island, Ruins of Silan).

Where the statement above seems to imply that the word Trial covers all legalities, I beg to differ. The least they could do is change that page to reflect the change in the trial.

[rothimar]

I would like to state that my responses here are based on my experiences with RoS, and should not be taken as how I believe everyone's experience has, or will, be.

1) Do you feel level a maximum level of 21 is enough time for a potential subscriber to determine if this is the right game for them?

Based on my experience, yes. I was able to gain a feel for a good portion of the game mechanics, met some great people, and saw enough of the beautiful environment to get completely hooked on the game.

2) Do you think it is fair/not fair for people above level 21 in any of the skills that are still on Silan to essentially be 'locked out' of adventuring that skill until they upgrade to a full subscription?

Yes, is indeed fair. There needs to be a method in place to push people towards subscription based play. RoS takes up system resources and support which paying customers finance. Those who are only here to play a "free" game should be limited. There is plenty of content near the starting areas of each nation to level up quickly on the mainland.

3) Do you think there could be some mis-advertising by offering a unlimited free trial and now changing the rules of that free trial mid-stream?

Absolutely not. Unlimited, if you were to take it literally, would mean you could be a GM. If you read through the EULA (end user license agreement), you will see that Nevrax can change their policies when they please. This is standard fare for any service provided.

4) After a while, the people on Silan that are above level 21 will either join the mainland, or leave the game. Do you think this could affect they experience of individuals seeking help or guidance on Silan as the more developed characters move off to bigger and better things? (such as advice, guidance, buying better quality crafted items, etc)

Not necessarily. The missions on the isle do present a pretty good tutorial for the game, and there is the manual to download. I used a combination of the missions, the manual, and asking in the /Universe channel for assistance. I personally went to mainland in my early level 30's, but fell in love with the game before I hit level 2.

This isn't a topic to suggest one thing or the other. Just wondering what people's opinions are on the changes.

I think the changes are fantastic! It's good to see Nevrax moving towards active subscriptions rather than a free "mini-game" as I believe it has been referred to. I feel better about my subscription costs being directed more towards development and marketing now, rather than providing a free game for many who would never make it to mainland.

[chessack]

money my friend. There are a lot of people in the world that dont want to pay for things There are a lot of people on Silan who have no intention of ever subscribing and are treating Ryzom as a free game.

And do you seriously believe a single one of them will suddenly gain the intention of subscribing, by cutting them off at a lower level? I don't.

The only thing cutting the trial off at a lower level could possibly accomplish is to decrease the total # of people trying the game out for free. Since the servers do not appear to be under any strain whatsoever (at least in terms of lag, server load, etc), this will not benefit anyone at all. Instead, it will turn off (or more accurately, the brevity of the trial will fail to attract) some proportion of that crowd of free-trial people who would otherwise have subscribed. This is going to make the "trial to pay" conversion number go down, not up.

This move will likely not gain them one single subscription they would not have otherwise obtained, and will most likely lose a huge number that they would've obtained had they not become so Draconian about it.

I think they are doing the right thing, as it's obviously an issue (in terms of resources) or they wouldnt be doing this.

I think this is going to come out in the wash. There will be less people trying the game, which will take less resources from the servers and CSR/GM time (helping them etc). But with less trials there will be less subscriptions, which means there are less resources coming in (money to pay for server load, CSRs, etc). In fact at BEST it will be a wash... I predict it will be far worse than a wash for Nevrax.

Nevrax's mistake, as has happened before, is being a little naive.

Doesn't change the fact that this is a big, fat mistake (in this homin's opinion, at any rate).

I suppose I mis-worded my post in the sense that I do see the reason they THINK this is a good idea. I think they are flat out wrong, though. And I have been proven right on these matters in other games, so I will stand by my assessment.

C